1. Field of the Disclosure
The “background” description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description which may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present invention.
The present disclosure relates to a water rationing device and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to a water rationing device and a control method for controlling and managing municipal household water usage.
2. Description of Related Art
Water scarcity has been among the main problems throughout the history of human civilization. Despite the existence of numerous water sources on the planet earth, availability of clean and drinkable water has been one of the crucial survival factors for a greater part of the world's population. Although the water scarcity problem is more noticeable in water poor countries, it is not particularly limited to such water poor countries. Uneven distribution of water, inefficiency of water harvesting and delivery systems, increased water consumption per person, and lack of solid usage control systems have resulted in water usage rate to grow at a greater rate than the rate of human population increase. The water scarcity problem also is a major concern for water rich countries in a long term.
As water scarcity increases, the cost of water also increases. For example, in dry countries, such as Saudi Arabia, the cost of clean water can exceed the cost of oil due to the limited supplies of clean water. Additionally, such limited supplies of clean water can not be easily sustained or replaced. As a result, various approaches have been utilized for water resources management. For example, water rationing has been a common practice to enforce fair distribution of the limited supply of water among the consumers. On the other hand, increasing awareness among the water consumers with regards to the water scarcity problem has been an alternative approach to encourage more responsible water usage.